Anaka Narayanan
Founder
Brass Tacks
Quick chat with Anaka Narayanan, a member of DWENIndia
Q. A woman entrepreneur you admire and why?
A. Anita Dongre, entrepreneur and fashion designer, for her ability to understand the market and create multiple brands with distinct personalities. I’d love to know how she finds the time to design or even direct a team of designers!
Q. Mantra for success is?
A. I’m not sure, but I’m hoping it’s a combination of hard work, finding the time to have fun and see the bigger picture, and staying healthy.
Q. Being your own boss means…
A. Being accountable for the entire company’s actions, and often answerable to your customers as well as your team.
Q. Your DWEN experience and how would you sum it?
A. I enjoyed seeing the diversity of thinking amongst fiercely ambitious women, and I always walk away feeling energized and motivated when I spend time with people who are passionate and open about their work.
Profile: Anaka Narayanan started a women’s fashion label, Brass Tacks, in 2007. The focus of her work is translating natural and hand-crafted textiles into fashionable looks that have an urban context. Brass Tacks is currently available in Chennai and online (www.brasstacksmadras.com) and they are due to open to store in Bangalore in a few months.
Anaka has a background in Economics and it was during her first job, at an economic analysis firm in New York, that she came up with the idea for Brass Tacks. Her quest for sharp, tailored silhouettes that made an impression on her in New York, in textiles that she was surrounded by during her childhood (her mother co-founded a sari retail brand a few months before Anaka was born!) made her want to create a line that would appeal to similar-minded Indian women.
